At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet," the one chosen by God in eternity past to be a prophet, Jeremiah 1:5, is selected to call a backsliding Judah to repentance. As you read our extended reading today it will remind you of Hosea who the Lord had to take for himself a "wife of whoredom."

Hosea's wife Gomer would continue in her adulterous ways and Hosea would go find her in the street, bring her back home and clean her up to be his wife.

The Lord is addressing the Jews, through Jeremiah, as His wife,Jeremiah 3:14, and calling them to repent, turn from their backsliding and return to service. That message given then, for the backsliding Jews, is appropriate for all of us as well, for today.

In the passage of our devotional reading for today there are three profound prophetic passages that I want you to notice.

Jeremiah 3:16speaks of a time when there will be no need for the "Ark of the Covenant" and in fact the Jews will even forget the Ark. The Ark was the piece of Temple furniture in the Holy of holies. The Ark was where the "mercy seat" was located. It was where once a year on Yom Kippur the High Priest would enter to make atonement for the Jewish people for the one year, ahead.

As is the case with all implements of the Temple and every activity of the Temple they were a prototype of Jesus to come. The Ark was the model of Him to come. Of course when you have the "real thing", Jesus Christ seated on His throne in the Holy of holies of the Temple you no longer need the model.

Jeremiah 3:17reminds us that the throne of our Lord will be in Jerusalem. One day the Jews will turn to the Messiah Jesus Christ who will sit on that throne. He will be their God and they will be His people, in Jerusalem.

The last verse I want you to look at isJeremiah 3:18which speaks of the time when there will be no longer "two houses for the Jewish people," Judah and Israel, but only one. I must remind you that there today is only one Jewish state, Israel. There are members of all twelve tribes in today's Israel. This has been the case since they returned to the land as recorded in Ezra 1, 2 and 6.

The ancient prophet Ezekiel foretold of a day in the future when there would be again two Jewish states in the Middle East, that's Ezekiel 37:15-23(See my audio study "Ezekiel: Retribution or Restoration," which is available at www.prophecybookstore.com). This passage in Jeremiah speaks to the unification of these two Jewish states at a time in the future.

I suggest that in the near future, in all three cases, no more Ark, Jesus on His throne in Jerusalem and one Jewish state from two Jewish States, all of these prophecies will be fulfilled.

The stage is set for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. The next event in prophecy is when the Lord will call us to meet Him in the air at the Rapture. It is so exciting to think that the Rapture could happen today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to stay in your Word Lord and close to You, so I won't backslide.